To provide youth athletes with the opportunity to pursue the sport of track and field and provide them with all the tools to compete at a championship level.

Vision Statement

To provide opportunities for youth through track and field that transitions them into the consummate student/athlete at the collegiate level. Through our programs, we aim to develop world class athletes not just in talent, but also in character, strength, and intelligence. We strive for our athletes to be scholarship athletes on, and off the track.

On television, most events are pre-recorded, and most events are
shown in an hour. That gives a misperception to most parents that this is not
an “all day” sport. When parents experience their first meet and realize that
we arrive at 7am in the morning and often times do not leave until 6pm…. It is
a shock to the parents the level of commitment it takes to support their kid in
this sport. Let alone the four days a week at practice for nearly two hours.
Most parents just have not considered that level of commitment when first
starting out.

Every year, we have an orientation for new parents trying to
explain the time commitment, the financial commitment, and the personal
commitment for the athletic and personal development of their kid in this sport. And of these, the personal commitment is key to the child’s success in
the sport. In our organization, athletic achievement is important, but personal
achievement has always been more important. Did the child/athlete improve on
the track? Did the child/athlete improve in the classroom? Did the
child/athlete improve in conduct and community (or family) awareness? When we
influence our families with those values, it also takes some accountability on
the part of the parents. And often, parents were not ready or willing to make
those types of commitments.

In talking with other coaches about this, we found that this isn’t
something exclusive for Premier Athletics. It is an ongoing problem in youth
sports overall. Because youth track and field requires a parent commitment
unlike many team sports, we find that parents are often asked to commit their
time on the track, in the stands, and even away from the track. And not just
from the dominate parent (in non-custodial situations), but all family members
involved. In talking with Sorento Griggs, head coach of Fort Worth Flyers and
over 20 years coaching youth track and field, he agrees wholeheartedly that “Just
because you (parent) are in the stands doesn’t mean you are supporting your
kid. Often times, you are just their ride. Because often parents rely on me to
tell their kid they did a good job. But once they hit the car, track is over.”

We found that when it come to that nearly 61% that no longer
participate in youth track, the overwhelming reason was that they did not know
the time commitment involved in the sport. They did not realize the financial
commitment in the sport. And they did not understand that training involved to
compete at the Junior Olympic level. And when leading an organization in this
sport, it is very important to define exactly how you plan to measure your
success or failure as an organization. For us, Premier Athletics, we wanted to
compete at the highest level…. Junior Olympics. We also wanted to perform at a
high level in the classroom. Which often meant we put athletes/families on “academic
probation” if their classroom performances did not measure up to our standards.
Telling a family that their kid could practice with us, but not participate in
a meet until the child brought their grades up?? Not something these specific
parents were used to. And often times felt that we had no right to do. If they
paid their money, they are the parents and decided whether their kids would
participate.